My Year at the Moulin Rouge

After the phone call, Cliff Simon got a one-way ticket from South Africa to Paris and spent the next year dancing at the Moulin Rouge. One moment, after which his “life was changed forever.”

On August 14, Simon and his co-author Loren Stephens read from Paris Nights: My Year at the Moulin Rouge, followed by a discussion and slideshow. The event is free and presented by Distant Lands.

Cliff Simon is a native South African. His family emigrated to the United Kingdom where he grew up and swam competitively. As a young adult he moved back to South Africa and entered the air force. After he completed his service, he taught windsurfing and waterskiing at a resort hotel. A stage show was being produced and quickly Simon became hooked, eventually performing around the world as a dancer and acrobat, culminating in his position at the Moulin Rouge in 1989. In 2000, Simon and his wife emigrated to America where he continued with performing, but as an actor, working on productions such as NCIS, Criminal Minds, and Days of Our Lives. He’s perhaps best known for his guest role as Ba’al on Stargate SG-1.